Tigers Open Conference Slate With Big Win Over OWU

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers braved rain, sleet, snow, cold temperatures and high winds to take the measure of visiting Ohio Wesleyan in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opener for both teams.

Wittenberg dominated from the outset, scoring the first seven goals of the game en route to a thorough 15-3 victory. The win broke a modest two-game skid for the Tigers, who improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC. Ohio Wesleyan fell to 4-4 overall and 0-1.

The weather conditions were anything but hospitable, with torrential rains creating large puddles on the artificial turf. As the game went on, sleet and snow mixed in as the temperatures hovered in the mid-30s.

The Tigers were undeterred, outshooting Ohio Wesleyan by a 35-21 margin, and more importantly picking up a strong performance from sophomore goalkeeper Katie Reuter (Cleveland, Ohio/Hathaway Brown), who made six saves in more than 55 minutes of work.

At the other end, six different Wittenberg players found the back of the net. Four of them finished with a hat trick, as junior Beth Hubbard (West Hartford, Conn./Notre Dame de Sion), senior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic), sophomore Olivia Lash (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) and freshman Becca Joseph (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) each contributed three goals. Junior Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) added two goals and senior Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH) rounded things out with a tally.

Hubbard, Murzynski, Marousek, Joseph, Warye and junior Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, Ky./Ballard) each dished out one assist in the game. Murzynski stuffed the stats sheet, picking up five ground balls, causing two turnovers and winning 10 draw controls, which is the second-highest single-game total in program history.

Marousek and Warye added five ground balls apiece, while the defense was paced by senior Mallory Skrobot (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) with two ground balls and one caused turnover.